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2 other local projects listed, but Gaetz defends funding

This rendering shows what Gulf Coast State College’s new STEM building may look like once completed in 2016.

Special to The News Herald

By MATTHEW BEATON / The News Herald

Published: Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 09:24 PM.

PANAMA CITY— Gulf Coast State College gets top-turkey honors.

The watchdog group Florida TaxWatch released its annual list of “turkeys” Thursday, naming 107 projects totaling $106.8 million, in the state budget, which, it says, didn’t receive “proper opportunity for public review and debate.”

The group wants Gov. Rick Scott to consider line-item vetoing the projects, including three in Bay County that total $15.1 million. Scott has until May 24 to make those decisions and act on the budget.

GCSC took the top-dollar spot with $14 million for its STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) building. The lion’s share of the funding was added in the budget conference, where the House and Senate merge their respective spending plans into one bill, after which it’s passed and sent to the governor.

Initially the House and the governor’s budget didn’t include any money for the STEM building and the Senate budget only included $300,000.

That changed in conference, when the amount grew to $14 million. Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, was the driving force behind making that happen.

On Thursday, Gaetz was defiant in the face of TaxWatch’s criticism, releasing a caustic statement that, among other jabs, said the group is “irrelevant 364 days a year.”

The watchdog group Florida TaxWatch released its annual list of “turkeys” Thursday, naming 107 projects totaling $106.8 million, in the state budget, which, it says, didn’t receive “proper opportunity for public review and debate.”

The group wants Gov. Rick Scott to consider line-item vetoing the projects, including three in Bay County that total $15.1 million. Scott has until May 24 to make those decisions and act on the budget.

GCSC took the top-dollar spot with $14 million for its STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) building. The lion’s share of the funding was added in the budget conference, where the House and Senate merge their respective spending plans into one bill, after which it’s passed and sent to the governor.

Initially the House and the governor’s budget didn’t include any money for the STEM building and the Senate budget only included $300,000.

That changed in conference, when the amount grew to $14 million. Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, was the driving force behind making that happen.

On Thursday, Gaetz was defiant in the face of TaxWatch’s criticism, releasing a caustic statement that, among other jabs, said the group is “irrelevant 364 days a year.”

Gaetz said TaxWatch is built on the “unconstitutional perversion” that if state agencies don’t recommend a spending project, it shouldn’t be considered in conference.

“This is an arrogance of the elite who spend too much time in Tallahassee and Washington listening to the echoes of their own invented wisdom and thinking they're hearing the voice of God,” he wrote.

Gaetz added, “In most cases, those who put together this list couldn’t find these projects on a map and haven't put five minutes into finding out anything about them.”

Gaetz said adding new spending during conference is a time-honored tradition.

“It is a practice that goes back to the founding of the American republic — that budget items are added in conference between the House and the Senate,” he said, noting the concept applies to state legislatures.

Gaetz said TaxWatch didn’t participate in the budget process by offering testimony.

He said “serious people” with “serious concerns” would have spoken at the conference meetings, explaining why projects should or should not have received money.

Gaetz also said all proposed spending items must be introduced at a publicly noticed open meeting, where testimony is “welcomed.” He said introducing these spending items in conference “absolutely” gives them a proper public airing.

TaxWatch

But TaxWatch disagrees.

“There really isn’t much testimony in the conference committee,” said Kurt Wenner, the group’s vice president, adding, “(The meetings) are usually very short and there’s seldom any public testimony, and even less discussion among members.”

Wenner’s response to Gaetz’ lack-of-testimony critique was simple. He said the Legislature already knows TaxWatch is dead-set against introducing new projects in conference, so it’s unnecessary to reiterate its views.

Besides it’s not where the real decisions are made, Wenner said.

“The conference meetings are open to the public, but if you’ve ever been to one there’s not really any debate or discussion. It’s a reading of the various offers back-and-forth,” Wenner said. “And it’s basically coming back and saying what’s been decided behind closed doors.”

TaxWatch’s biggest problem is with spending projects naming a specific recipient or locality, added in conference, which never passed through the initial committee budget process.

Wenner said the late-add projects might not make the budget if they went through the full process.

“When they’re put in, in conference, there is no chance for them to be removed. No one can really object to them … there is no opportunity to vote (them) up-and-down,” he said, noting all checks and balances “go out the window.”

Wenner also responded to Gaetz’ 364-day-a-year irrelavance crack.

“We issue reports all year long. We’ve been very successful in our history in getting recommendations enacted. We have a cost-savings task force that’s had several billion dollars in cost savings enacted over the years.

“So we work 365 days a year and we believe we’re relevant all year,” he said.

Wenner also said Gaetz should have read the report and reviewed its criteria before issuing a statement making “incorrect and misguided assertions” about it.

Patronis’ support

Another turkey-labeled project is $500,000 for the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport’s (ECP) crosswind runway. It was not added to the budget until the conference.

“I helped get it in,” said Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, noting it’s the Federal Aviation Administration’s and the state transportation agency’stop priority for ECP.

Patronis said there is urgency to build this “cautionary alternative runway,” and said it will require local matching dollars.

Another project deemed a turkey is $610,000 for the Bay County Health Department’s BayCare program, a health-care program for low income residents. Patronis wasn’t so keen on the program, which also was added in conference. He said it was likely funded at Gaetz’ request.

Patronis also defended the $14 million for GCSC, saying the STEM building was necessary because some learning must take place in an educational facility, with lab workstations and proper teacher oversight.

“In STEM, you can’t have an Internet-based lab. … Not everything can be done via distance learning, and this particular facility was long overdue,” he said.

Patronis understood the turkey concerns, but said in recent years the budget process has become “more transparent than it’s ever been before.”

“I think that the public does have the opportunity to engage and be a part of the process,” he said.

Patronis also said the projects aren’t “dreamt up out of thin air at the last minute.” He said the BayCare program, the ECP runway project and the STEM building were discussed long before this year’s budget conference.

“I think all of these issues have been public enough over the years; you know, we just had an opportunity to act upon them,” Patronis said.

Meanwhile, Gaetz dismissed the STEM building topping the turkey list.

“If the replacing this building cost $6 million, then there would have been a smaller amount in the budget; if replacing the building would have cost more money, then more money would have been in the budget,” he said. “It’s very hard to build (only) part of a building.”

But the new building will cost much more than the $14 million appropriation. In April, GCSC President Jim Kerley said the current estimate is $23 million. He was unsure where the other $9 million would come from and even suggested next year’s legislative session as a funding source.